Play Me
by suniships
Summary: She was never a part of his life. But then again she was. One moment she's pulled closer, the other, she's pushed away. Confusion gnawed at her as she continues with her life. I really hope you will like it. It's a different route that I've decided to take this time. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I am trying something new. I hope you all will like this plot. Please rate and review. I do NOT own Prince of Tennis.**

 **Chapter-1**

Ayame Sakurano had been living this confusing yet amazing secret life for about two weeks now. Her school hours were spent in confusion, longing stares and even hurt, but her after school hours would always make up for it. For she had the perfect boyfriend. Just thinking about him made her giggle like a love struck schoolgirl. Well, she _was_ a love struck schoolgirl, no?

She remembered the line of events fondly. Her school, Seishun Gakuen had been the winners of the Kantou tournament. She had been there to watch the finals. There he was, in all his glory, the captain of Seigaku's boys' tennis club, Kunimitsu Tezuka. She didn't know him personally, especially since she was in her second year and he was in third, but they had exchanged a few words over the years.

His hard-working nature, his determination and his stern yet strong command had always made her think highly of him. His physical attributes, though, only came into play _after_ _that incident._

It happened a week after the tournament had ended. She was leaving school after classes. And _he_ was right there. Leaning against the wall beside the school gates. She nodded in acknowledgement and continued on her way but his deep voice stopped her. "Sakurano san," he called. She turned to look at him. "Would you mind joining me for coffee?" She could only gape at his offer. Why would anyone, especially the school's most popular hunk, want to have coffee with _her_? But she accepted. And well, the rest was history.

They had to keep their relationship a secret, though. He wanted privacy and didn't want her to be victimized by his rabid fan girls. She wasn't happy about it, but she knew he was right.

She felt that he would behave very oddly during school. He didn't even glance at her. And whenever she would smile or wave at him, he would completely ignore her like he would any of her fan girls. It confused and hurt her. But the dates, the hangouts would make her feel like she was the most important person to him. He would take her to absurdly far yet simple and exotic locations just for a cup of tea. And she loved it. She loved him.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Kunimitsu Tezuka was used to getting attention. He wasn't fond of it but, by the time he reached his third year in high school, he had become more or less immune to it. Exceptions would be when a few of _them_ just wouldn't leave him alone.

For the last two weeks or so, a girl he knew to not be of that type, began throwing him glances. Tezuka wasn't blind. He knew when he was being _observed._ But he had never seen her acting like his other fans. It was just the smiles and the longing stares she'd give him that made him uncomfortable. Like she expected something of him.

Every now and then, when they'd cross paths, she'd stare. And if he caught her looking at him, unlike the others, she'd just smile and stare some more. It was, disturbing, to say the least.

She was a second year student. Part of the student council. That's how he knew her. She was in charge of handling all accounts and was known to be very good at what she did. But her odd behavior made him question the girl's sanity. Not that it mattered, though. He'd forget about all this the moment he stepped out of school. No. things like these didn't matter at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter-2**

Two more weeks into her relationship and Ayame began to feel odd. Like something was off. The difference between Tezuka's behaviors in and out of school varied too much. He also seemed to get some of the obvious details wrong and Ayame couldn't help but feel that something was just not right.

"Is something bothering you Mitsu-chan?" she asked worriedly as they lay on a hill top, star gazing. "Why would you say that love?" he turned to her and cupped her cheek. "No, I was just worried" she touched his hand. He pulled her closer to himself and murmured, "I love you" as he kissed her lovingly. At that very moment, Ayame didn't have the power or heart to suspect him anymore. He loved her so much. How could she even think he would hurt her? She lay in his arms there on the hill top till late in the evening.

But the morning after, brought back the familiar disappointment. Tezuka was again distant. These days he seemed to be avoiding her like the plague, at school. When asked about it during their dates, he would give some vague answers regarding fan girls and privacy. It only confused her more.

It was lunch time. She sadly stared from one of the large windows in the hallway while the tennis club practiced. She noticed that Tezuka wasn't there and frowned. He was always there during practice. Upset, she turned to go back to class, but stopped.

Right there, he was at the end of the hallway, about to take a turn. "Mitsu-chan!" she called out. He froze. She ran up to him noticing no one there. "Mitsu-chan, I saw you weren't at practice. What're you doing here?" the boy in question only gave him a cold, hard stare and began to walk away, but Ayame was adamant about having her way today.

She grabbed his hand and stopped him. "Mitsu-chan please, talk to me. It's not fair. We've been together for about a month now" Tezuka at this point seemed very angry and roughly freed his hand from the girl, almost shoving her in the process. But she just wouldn't back down today. And in desperation, she did the unthinkable.

Putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him right there in the hallway. Tezuka completely froze for a second as her eyes grew wide in shock. Feeling humiliated, she slowly retracted her hands and stepped aside as he stiffly walked away without sparing her another glance.

She dropped on her knees and sobbed helplessly.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Tezuka was _not_ having a good day. His friends and teammates were all aware of this as soon as he came to school that morning. He had a hard time sleeping and had been feeling grouchy since he woke up.

He could barely concentrate in class. He was always attentive and never missed anything during lessons, but today almost all his notes were incomplete. This frustrated him even more. And Fuji's constant teasing was NOT helping.

During lunchtime practice he felt like he was going to fall asleep just standing there watching them. _God forbid,_ if that were to ever happen, his image will be tarnished. Not to mention that a certain tensai would never let him live it down. So, to save himself, he handed the reigns over to Oishi and went for a short stroll. He soon found himself inside the school building. He was going to make a turn for the stairs when someone called out his name in the most absurd way.

"Mitsu-chan!" the voice called out. He froze from the horrid nickname and wished that someone else was being called. The owner of the voice though, soon ran up to him and blocked his way. If he was shocked to see that the person was Ayame Sakurano, he tried his best to hide it. She kept talking about ignoring her and what not. He gave her a cold stare and was going to leave but she grabbed his hand and started being very emotional.

He was livid. He was having a terrible day and this girl was hell bent on driving him mad. Losing his self-control, he forcefully freed himself and shoved her away and right then she crossed all limits.

She _kissed_ him. He couldn't believe it! No girl ever had the guts to walk up to him and KISS him! But before he could react he saw the girl suddenly looking shocked and stepping away from him. Disgusted and livid, he left her there as she began to sob.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter-3**

Kunimitsu Tezuka sat in a quaint coffee shop on the outskirts of Seishun city. His _girlfriend_ of about a month had informed that she'd be running late and as the gentleman he was, he said that he'd wait.

Bored, he was going through his phone when someone came to his table. He looked up to see that it was his girlfriend. He smiled. "Aya-hime, I thought you said something…" he trailed off when he saw something he did not expect to see.

Another boy, another Tezuka, dressed in proper Seigaku uniform, was standing behind Ayame. Her eyes filling up with tears, she asked, "M-Mitsu-chan? Wh-who a-are you?"

He groaned. He didn't expect this to happen today. Hell, he didn't even expect this to go on for so long, but here he was. He wasn't sure what would happen when this girl, whom he had come to call his _girlfriend_ , would do when he revealed his identity.

The other Tezuka did not look too happy either. It was, after all, _his_ identity that he had been faking. He looked up at them again and found them both staring. The girl, with pain in her eyes and the boy, with cool rage.

With a groan, he pulled off the wig and mask. A soft gasp came from Ayame. Tezuka only narrowed his eyes. "Masaharu Niou" Tezuka nodded to her. "Bu-but I don't even know him!" she turned to Niou. "Why would you do something like this?" her voice was filled with sadness. "Cuz it was fun, puri" he smirked without a hint of guilt. "You played me. You broke my trust." Ayame felt like crying her heart out. But he only rolled his eyes and said in a bored tone, "Oh please, don't give me that look. You were only hooked because you thought it was him. Don't pretend to be all innocent and hurt. Che!" The girl only had a small sad smile on her face. "Yes," she admitted. "I was surprised and ecstatic that someone like Tezuka senpai would bother to ask me out. Yes, on the exterior it was for him, that I showed my feelings. But on the inside it was always you that I'd spent all this time with. Wasn't it? Under his exterior it was always you."

Niou just rolled his eyes and continued to look bored. Not wanting to humiliate herself anymore, Ayame picked her bag and left. Tezuka only gave him a hard stare and left as well.

He didn't have to worry about finding the girl because she was standing at the street corner, sobbing. "Sakurano let me take you-"No senpai," she cut him off, wiping her eyes furiously. "You've done more than enough by believing me and coming all the way down here. I really couldn't ask for more. All I can do though, is keep my promise and never show myself to you again." She bowed to him in thanks and apology and left, disappearing in the crowd.

Tezuka hated to admit it. But he felt kind of bad.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Niou watched as she left. It was fun while it lasted. He recounted how all this had really happened.

 _It was during the final of the Kantou tournament. She was right there. Actually watching the match unlike the other screaming girls. She looked beautiful with her long cherry red hair swishing from side to side as she followed the ball across the court with her eyes. Her eyes. Big, brown and innocent. He smirked. She'd be the perfect target._

 _About a week later, disguising himself as Tezuka, he asked the girl out. She was ecstatic. Her name was Ayame Sakurano. It started out as a simple joke which, he thought, would last no longer than a week. But she was so different. So tender. And he began to grow more attached to her. How a week turned into a month, he could not tell. But he became reckless and got caught._

 _He was out of his trance now and couldn't care less for the girl. She was never anything more than a play thing anyways. It_ _ **was**_ _fun while it lasted._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter-4**

Tezuka woke up feeling strange. As if something was different today. _But what?_ He couldn't quite tell. He forced himself to concentrate on his daily routine to calm his restless mind.

Just as he stepped in through the school gates, though, he realized what was making him restless.

 _He was done with his afternoon practice. All the other regulars were either going home like him, or going out with friends. But as he neared the gates, he spotted the one person he did NOT want to see for a very long time. There she was, Ayame Sakurano, leaning against the wall beside the school gates. He straightened himself and walked faster, determined to avoid her, but she stepped in his way just moments before he could leave school premises. "Senpai," she bowed, her long hair falling on both sides as she did. "I apologize for my behavior earlier today." He was more than annoyed at being reminded of the incident that nearly caused a cardiac arrest. He did not want to stay anywhere near this girl._

" _Senpai please," she begged, still bowing. "I know I don't deserve to be in the same place as you, especially after what happened. But please senpai, I really need your help." Tezuka only stared at her. "What had caused you to act this way?" "You won't believe me even if I told you. Please just come with me" she pleaded. "No. Not until I know what's going on." Tezuka was strict as ever. He refused to get into anyone else's mess. But her words made him rethink his decision. "Senpai I promise," her voice was serious. "I promise to never show you my face again if you come with me today." He wasn't sure what to say to that. He sighed. "Fine." He headed out._

Although, he was **not** pleased about her kissing him, he couldn't deny that he felt a bit bad for the girl. She hadn't known that Niou was tricking her.

His day went normally. He was able to concentrate in class and in practice. But a small voice at the back of his head kept asking ' _where is she?'_ By the time lunch break came, he started wondering if she was really going to keep her promise. The classes after that got him to think that if she _was_ serious, maybe she could do it for a month or so. They _did_ have student council meetings, right? So what's the point of hiding?

By the time his afternoon practice ended, he was just about ready to run around looking for her. But Tezuka Kunimitsu _never_ ran around looking for people. He sighed. He hated to admit it but he was beginning to miss her already. He only hoped that she would not take her promise seriously.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Ayame wasn't in the best shape. The day before had been a disaster. The night that came along hadn't been forgiving either. She had cried herself to sleep and had woken up with a terrible headache. She considered skipping school and felt stupid. _Not like anybody knows about any of this._

She suddenly stiffened. _He knows. The_ _ **real**_ _Kunimitsu Tezuka knows it all._ She bit her lip in thought. She was sure that he wasn't the type to spread rumors, right? Especially if it involved himself? She remembered her promise to the stoic captain. _I will never show you my face again senpai._

After all that she'd done to harass him, although unintentionally, she was glad he had been generous enough to help her reveal Niou's identity. At least to return his favor she would keep her promise.

Just his name brought back memories. Yes, the exterior _was_ of Kunimitsu Tezuka. But it was Niou that she had kissed. Tezuka's face was what existed in her memories. But after knowing the truth, the hurt, the betrayal and the realization made all those beautiful memories hurtful and distorted. And the worst part was that he didn't care at all. He did not show any sign of guilt after all that he'd done. It was almost like he didn't care who got hurt, as long as he got what he wanted. He looked _painfully bored_ when he'd been caught. And that had made her feel worse. It made her feel used. Like a toy. _He played with my feelings like one does with a toy._

She was spacing out all through the day. In classes, during student council activities. Even during art club activities she couldn't concentrate. She couldn't find peace in her work like she always did, his face and his careless attitude pained her. So she decided to leave early.

As she left the school building, she turned to see none other than Tezuka coming from the courts. More out of embarrassment than wanting to fulfill her promise, she ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her out of the school.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter-5**

Ayame had been able to _successfully_ avoid Tezuka for over a week now and was quite proud of it. Atleast she wasn't harassing him anymore. Right? Besides academics, student council works and her art club duties, she didn't have much to do. She even began doing her schoolwork at school just so she wouldn't have time to ponder about the past.

But when she would go back home to her empty apartment, the emptiness and the loneliness would give her a lot of time to think. And thinking made her cry. It made her feel like she was the one at fault. She was too stupid to realize that someone like Kunimitsu Tezuka would never be interested in her. She should have caught on sooner and saved herself from the humiliation that she had to go through. She had always wanted a loving relationship. But never at such a high cost.

Avoiding Tezuka became a necessity for her not just because of the promise, but also because just seeing him made her heart hurt. It reminded her of the kiss, the betrayal and the humiliation. It was just too much for her. She really didn't want to bother the stoic yet harmless senior anymore. But if she didn't know better, she would've sworn she felt like Tezuka was always trying to find her in school. He'd just pop up everywhere she went. The library, the student council office, even the secluded area behind the school. She would have to be extra careful so as to not come in front of him. Life, for her, had become exhausting.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

 _This is ridiculous_. Tezuka sat on a park bench to rest. He had decided to go for a light jog to clear his head. But his thoughts only felt more jumbled.

Ever since that day at the coffee shop, he had not seen Ayame Sakurano _anywhere_. It's like she'd vanished. Well, not literally. He still received the weekly reports on expenditures on time. He would still see new paintings signed by her, in the art clubroom. He was certain of her existence. He only hoped she wasn't doing this just to keep her promise.

He felt stupid. He'd spent the entire previous month or so, hoping that this girl would stop following her. And _now,_ he was looking all over for the same very girl. It was kind of hard, really. His teammates could clearly tell something was off. He'd wander around the school looking lost. He would visit secluded places in school, places he would never go to before.

He could feel his stoic mask slipping off due to anxiety. He even noticed Fuji giving him odd looks whenever he'd check out his surroundings, looking for her. It's been long enough.

He didn't even know why he wanted to see her again. He just knew he had to. Maybe he had simply gotten used to seeing her all the time. Right?

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Ayame Sakurano sat in the vast library of Seigaku, contentedly doing her schoolwork. She had purposefully skipped the student council meeting for the upcoming Ocean festival. She had done her part as a responsible member of the student council and sent the budget fixed for the 3-day-long festival. Being present physically was not important.

She stopped reading and looked around. It was end of another school day. The meeting was probably still going on. She didn't want to be a part of it. She didn't want to face a certain Student Council President. She wondered what would've happened if she _had_ gone to today's meeting. Would he be angry at her for breaking the promise? Would he be annoyed? Or would he just go back to ignoring her all over again? She shook her head and sighed. She had avoided the meeting for this very reason and yet it's the same thing that's invading her thoughts. Not fair.

Her thoughts drifted to a certain silver haired boy. _Niou Masaharu._ He was so nice to her. Could he not be honest with her from the beginning? _Did he actually even like me?_ There was no point thinking about that anymore. She looked at the time, it was almost five. She began to pack her things to leave, but stopped.

 _Please dear life, have mercy on me. I can't handle another shock so soon. Please tell me I'm dreaming._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter-6**

 _Please dear life, have mercy on me. I can't handle another shock so soon. Please tell me I'm dreaming._

Ayame was having a hard time moving. She was currently pinned against one of the backmost shelves of the school library. How did she get here? Well…

 _She stopped packing her things and looked up. Standing in front of her was a very pissed off Kunimitsu Tezuka. But before she could even utter a word, she was roughly pulled up off her seat and dragged to the back of the library, where she got cornered and shoved against a shelf by the angry captain._

She tried moving her hand a bit, but his grip only tightened around her wrist. She was glad the librarian hadn't been there when she got dragged away. She just stared at her side, trying to ignore his piercing gaze. She knew he was very angry right now, but she did not have the courage to look at him.

Tezuka was getting impatient. First, this girl doesn't show up in front of him for _two weeks_. Then, she torments him by making him confused and anxious. But today was the last straw. She had the _audacity_ to deliberately skip student council meeting just so she could avoid him! So what if she sent in a detailed report of the budget? She had to _be there._

"Look at me" discontentment clear in his voice. _She's still ignoring me!_

"Please let go, senpai," the girl said quietly.

"Look. At. Me. When. I'm. Talking. To. You."

Biting her bottom lip, Ayame finally met his gaze. For a moment Tezuka couldn't find anything to say at all. Her eyes were so…deep. Like bottomless chocolate pools, they would drown him. He just couldn't look away.

"Uh, you didn't bother come to the meeting today."

"I-I sent the detailed-

"I couldn't care less about the report. Why were _you_ not there?"

"You know _why_." Ayame shifted uncomfortably.

"Please don't tell me you are taking that silly promise seriously" he was really annoyed at the girl.

"I have other reasons too, but I guess that's part of it as well." She just wanted this conversation to end.

"What other reasons?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, senpai."

Tezuka, at this point, wanted to scream. "You stay away from me for _two whole weeks_. You torment me by not being near me like before. You've turned my daily routine upside down and you tell me you don't have to explain yourself to me! I demand an explanation and it better be a good one Sakurano."

Tezuka tried to keep his stoic face going in front of the girl. But the blush on Ayame's face had made him realize how his words might've sounded. Sadly though, before he could do any damage control, Ayame stole his chance.

" _You_ were the one who didn't want me around," she accused. "You made me promise to not show you my face ever again. And it hasn't even been two whole weeks yet, senpai. You're overreacting."

Tezuka felt his eyebrow twitch. " _I_ did not _make you_ promise anything. _You_ were too enthusiastic about keeping that dumb promise. It has been two weeks. _You_ just don't know how to count."

Seeing as Tezuka just won't quit, she sighed. "Senpai please, there's no point-

She stopped abruptly seeing the library lights being turned off. They both quickly gathered their things and rushed out, lest they get stuck in the library.

Tezuka stopped to see where Ayame was and realized that she was gone. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. _Why is she always running from me?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter-7**

It was a free period and Momoshiro was spending time with his partner on the project that was due next week. It was more like she was doing all the work and he was just sitting there watching her.

He watched her working patiently on the project. Her one hand jotting notes, while the other leafed through the book in front of her. Her slender fingers reached up to tuck a strand of her cherry red hair behind her ear. Momoshiro couldn't help but stare at her.

He didn't know Ayame Sakurano too well. Although they were in the same class, she was always distant from the others. Always minding her own business. He'd always seen her, quietly reading a book during her free time. Living in her own world.

He'd always considered her as a nice girl. But when she walked up to him, his voice left his side. She was so pretty too! The long cherry red hair, the dark brown eyes, the cute smile, it all became too much for him and had ended up nodding and blushing madly when she had asked if he wanted to work on their project.

He was so embarrassed. He wished he could be a little less shy around her. He sighed and continued to watch her work.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Inui couldn't help feel a bit worried for his captain. He had been spacing out a lot for the last few weeks. But today he was plain annoyed at everything. He wondered what had gotten him so distracted that he wasn't even paying attention to tennis.

 _Does it have something to do with Sakurano?_ He was aware that there was some sort of tension between the two. The two would share nervous (Sakurano) and narrow-eyed (Tezuka) glances when around each other. He had seen them argue in private (not so private anymore, huh?) quite a few times. But he wasn't completely sure what it was they were being so private about but he was sure he wasn't the only one who'd noticed.

His eyes darted toward the tennis prodigy. Although closed eyed, and serenely playing, Inui knew there was more to Fuji Syusuke than meets the eye. He knew that even Fuji was aware of this and an evil smirk formed on his lips. _Now I have someone to go hunting with._

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Tezuka walked towards the student council office. It wasn't enough that the Ocean festival was only two weeks away, but also a certain head of accounts was hiding from him. He just can't get the girl to drop her silly promise. It's ridiculous.

He was going to open the door to his office when the door opened up from the inside and revealed Ayame Sakurano. The girl gasped and tried to hurry past him, but he was too fast for her.

Tezuka pushed her back into his office and stepped in, closing the door behind him. She squirmed under his intense gaze.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were bent on not coming in front of me."

"Don't flatter yourself. I was only here to submit the plans for the festival since no one else would, that's all." She tried to walk past him again but he stepped in front of the door.

Ayame huffed. She was getting tired of all this. "What do you want from me, senpai?"

Tezuka fell quiet. He was quite sure he couldn't wait to get away from her just a few weeks ago. But now that everything was going his way, he was beginning to wonder if this was really what he wanted.

"Why don't you come see me anymore? You used to do that a lot."

Ayame couldn't believe this. Was he brain damaged or something?

"Senpai, seriously? You know I only followed you around because I thought it was actually you instead of Niou in disguise. I wouldn't have done it otherwise."

Tezuka narrowed his eyes. "So, not a single moment of that longing was for _me_?"

"No?" she nervously stepped back as the senior stepped closer.

"So even the kiss was for Niou? You didn't feel anything?" Tezuka took long yet slow strides and watched her back up to create more distance, eventually trapping herself between him and his desk.

"Oh my God! It was for _whoever_ was dating me and from the exterior it was _**you**_! And, it made me…uh… realize that it wasn't really you who was taking me out on dates and um… making out with me. So, um, yeah, it gave me realization. And humiliation. Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Tezuka propped his hands on the desk on either side of Ayame. His voice dangerously low, "He what?"

Ayame gulped. _Why is he always getting mad at me? What did I do this time? And why is he so close?_

"He _kissed_ you?" he wanted to rip Niou's head off.

"Um… senpai, that's how I could tell he wasn't you when I er, kissed you."

Tezuka had reached his boiling point. He couldn't stand another second hearing about Ayame and Niou kissing.

Without thinking he wrapped an arm around her waist while the other went to the back of her head. "I don't ever want to hear you mention him again," he murmured as he pressed his mouth against hers. Her lips were smooth against his chapped ones. They were so sweet…

The door suddenly opened and Oishi walked in. He immediately froze. Ayame stood between Tezuka and his desk. Both looking unkempt.

"Uh…I guess I should come back later." Oishi turned to leave, but Tezuka stopped him.

"Actually Sakurano was just leaving" he said trying to keep his voice stable.

 _SLAP!_

Tezuka stared wide-eyed. His left cheek stinging from the hit. Ayame was livid. "Of course I was" she was shaking from anger. She shoved him away and stormed past a stunned Oishi.

Two pairs of eyes saw and heard the entire commotion. Too bad they couldn't see what happened inside, but oh well. Their creepy smiles said only one thing. Sending Oishi to look for Tezuka was the right decision.

Both Inui and Fuji were interested now.

And _that_ was never a good thing.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the late update. I just moved to Canada a few weeks ago. This really kept me busy. Please r &r. I hope you like it. XOXO**

 **Chapter-8**

Tezuka busily put his things in his locker and packed his bag. A light handprint on his fair skin kept stinging. And the mild snickering of a certain tensai and the awkward cough of their data master was **not** helping. He couldn't help wondering if they had anything to do with today's awkward incident. Knowing those two, he could be right.

Fortunately, the others chose life over asking him about the handprint, but Fuji and Inui clearly weren't among them.

"Sa, Tezuka," and hell just started. "What's that mark on your cheek? It looks like a-" he was cut off by an icy glare thrown towards him.

"Fuji," now it was Inui. God help him. "Did you hear, someone was caught in a compromising situation in the student council office?"

The door to the clubroom slammed close.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Ayame furiously signed the papers in front of her. Her mind reeling.

 _How dare he! What the hell is wrong with that guy?! First he ignores me (not that he knew any of it), then he keeps looking for me, gets angry for staying away, kisses me and then kicks me out! The nerve of that guy!_

"Sakurano-chan"

"WHAT?" Ayame snapped but suddenly gasped. Momoshiro looked at her in surprise. He was not expecting her to be so pissed off.

"I'm so sorry Momoshiro-san, I didn't mean to" she apologized.

"It's okay. You're probably under a lot of pressure with the festival coming up, no?"

"I guess so" Ayame smiled. "So tell me, how can I help you?"

"Well, we still have to finish the project we have. It's due the day after tomorrow. And everybody was wondering when we'd decide what our class would do for the festival."

"The writing part of the project is already done. You'll just have to print the necessary pictures and stick them. I've left empty spaces on the pages so you can do that. I'll give it to you tomorrow and we can submit it the day after."

Ayame had a thoughtful expression on her face, "And about the festival, we'll discuss it tomorrow after classes end. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. That's fine. So I'll be off Sakurano-chan. See you tomorrow." Ayame waved as he left.

Her mind went back to her previous thoughts. Kunimitsu Tezuka. _I don't want to hear you mention him ever again._ Her face grew warm. _What's wrong with him? Is he brain damaged or something?_

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Inui finished his homework and was about to look into his notes that he'd collected that day, but the _ping_ noise of his phone stopped him.

It was a mail from the tensai.

' _We should prepare for our next plan, no?'_ it read.

The gleam on Inui's glasses was terrifying.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I am extremely sorry for the slow updates. I am having a bad case of the 'Writer's Block' and have been unable to come up with good ideas to share. Please r &r. You can even write your expectations from this story in your review. Maybe that way you all can help me out of this horrible writer's block. Thanks so much. I don't own POT. But I do own Sakurano Ayame.**

 **Chapter-9**

Ayame busily walked down the hall towards her class. She wanted to make the most of the day. She was making a mental list of the things she wanted to do as she went to her homeroom, but someone suddenly pushed her into the conveniently open closet in the hall. And locked it.

Completely bewildered, she jiggled the doorknob in hopes of unlocking it. It didn't work. She realized that she wasn't alone in the small closet when a deep voice spoke up, "Sakurano, untie my hands. Quick."

Ayame pressed herself against the door.

"God no! You could be some perverted creep for all I know. Stay back!"

The person sighed. "Untie my hands. Now. We need to find a way out before classes start."

His stern voice gave the girl a realization. "Tezuka senpai! That's you?!"

When no reply came rolled her eyes in the dark.

"Of course, I'm not going to untie you then. You definitely _are_ a creepy pervert."

"Sakurano," his tone was enough of a warning and Ayame huffed angrily before moving to untie his wrists.

The moment his wrists were free though, Ayame found herself pressed against the wall. Even in the darkness she could feel him staring her down.

"So, I'm a creepy pervert? Is that what you think?" his voice sent shivers down her spine.

"O-of course you are" she sputtered.

For a moment there was no response, but then suddenly she felt his hands slide down her sides to circle around her trim waist.

Panicked, she pushed against Tezuka's shoulders when she felt his mouth against her ear.

"If that's what I am," he murmured, "then what I do next will be completely justified."

Without giving the confused girl a chance to question his intentions, he nipped at her neck, softly sucking the smooth skin. Ayame's face burned as she squealed involuntarily. Tezuka smirked in the dark.

Taking advantage of her flustered state, he pulled her close with one hand while the other went into her hair. His mouth claimed hers in the same demanding manner as before.

Ayame squeezed her eyes shut. The more she tried to distance herself from the stoic captain, the more he kept pulling her to himself. At one point, tired of Ayame's shoving, Tezuka grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the wall again.

"What happened Sakurano?" he mumbled against her neck, lightly kissing and biting her soft skin. "I thought you wanted to stay away from me. Yet we keep getting into these situations. I'm starting to think you like getting into these situations with me."

The girl wriggled in his grip, "Of course I d-ah!" her breath hitched as Tezuka kissed her behind the ear. She bit her lip in embarrassment and tried to free herself from the intimidating giant holding her captive.

Tezuka smirked as he leaned in for another kiss, but the door to the closet opened and a flash went off. They both stood, dumbfounded for a minute, before realizing that the person who had probably taken a picture of them was already gone.

Horrified and embarrassed at being caught with Tezuka again, and moreover by someone with a camera, Ayame was ready to crawl into a corner and die. So, when Tezuka steered her out of the closet, she angrily hit Tezuka's chest repeatedly.

"Why didn't you stop him! What will you do now!" she yelled angrily.

Heaving a sigh, Tezuka held her wrists and gently pulled her to him, but before he could say anything, he looked up and froze. A girl from his class was standing in front of them, looking back and forth between them and the open closet door. It didn't take much for Tezuka to realize that she'd probably seen them come out of the closet together.

Ayame turned around to follow Tezuka's line of sight and felt death charging towards her at the speed of light. In front of them was the captain of the girls' volleyball team. She was the president of Tezuka's fan club too.

Ayame's face burned and mind raced as the senior female narrowed her eyes at her.

"Classes are starting." Her voice made Ayame want to run for her life. And she did. But before she could run away to safety, Tezuka caught her arm.

"Meet me after school" his order brought Ayame out of her racing thoughts.

"As if," she rolled her eyes and ran off.

Tezuka watched her run off then turned to the other girl. She was still looking at him with narrowed eyes. He cleared his throat and said, "Classes are starting," before walking away. The girl followed him back to their class, all the while wondering if what she'd seen was really what it seemed like.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Ayame groaned as the cool surface of the desk touched her forehead. Her entire morning was messed up by one single senpai. The Gods up there must really hate her. She was going to mentally kill Tezuka a few more times but something else came to her mind.

For some reason everyone in the class had been looking at her strangely ever since she'd entered the classroom. Especially the people near her desk. She thought maybe something was on her face, seeing that almost everyone was giving her weird glances, and decided to go to the bathroom.

She lazily entered the girl's bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror in shock. Right there, on the right side of her neck was a coin-sized purple hickey, that was big and bright enough for anyone to notice.

She screamed and hurriedly pulled her hair down from her bun. She had tied it on her way to class thinking it would help and _boy did it help._ Now everyone who had seen her had also probably seen the ugly mark and were probably even talking about it. She so wanted to kill Tezuka.

Looking up at her reflection, she stopped. She pushed her long hair back to reveal the mark and lightly touched it. Her face heated up and she bit her lip. She didn't understand this at all.

It was between Niou and her. From her social media she came to know a little bit more of the boy. He probably was never interested in her anyways. But she had honestly thought after clearing everything with Tezuka things would go back the way they were before. _Why is he doing all this then? Why does he like playing with me like this?_

But before she could let her thoughts wander, a few girls stepped in and she hurriedly hid her hickey and rushed out. _I don't have time for this. I just have to get through this festival and then I'm resigning. He just won't stop and I don't have it in me to tolerate this and not murder him because he couldn't possibly like me. Guys like him like pretty and popular girls like the one in the morning._

She huffed and went back to her class. Her appetite gone.

 **DDDDDDDDDD**

Inui and Fuji sat in a quiet stairwell during lunchtime. Fuji was smiling serenely at the picture in his hand. The picture showing Sakurano in Tezuka's arms in the closet. It was a no-brainer that their captain was smitten with the girl. But what they didn't understand was whether or not there's more.

"Sakurano chan's really pretty, no?" Fuji's words directed the data master's gaze towards the picture. He nodded.

"I wonder what's going on between them."

"That's what we are going to find out." Inui said while adding more data under Sakurano Ayame's name.

So far what they have found out wasn't too special. Just general information on the girl. She had a rather boring life with very few friends none of whom were too close to her. She liked living a quiet life, studying and staying by herself. Even having Momoshiro as her classmate didn't help widen their knowledge of her. By her profile anyone would dismiss her as a plain Jane. But her picture defied her boring profile.

Vibrant cherry-red hair, tanned skin, dark brown eyes and an athletic build. From what they gathered, she didn't play any sports in school. Inui wondered if she played sports outside school.

"The classmate catching them at the end was a nice touch although it wasn't planned." Fuji chuckled. Inui thought for a second before voicing out his concern.

"Do you think she'd become a problem for our case?"


End file.
